Polyphonic ringtones: calls, court cases and copyright

Ringtones are big business. The Yankee Group announced that over the past five years, these musical ringtones have literally sent people singing to the bank, with a total revenue of $2 billion since 2001 and $50 million in a single year.

The figures show how popular ringtones have become among cell phone users, who download the files to customize their calling features. They can choose from millions of songs, from the latest R&B hit single to wacky sounds like mooing cows and classic pieces by Ludwig van Beethoven. Technological development has also made the audio quality of ringtones much more realistic. From the pungent, can-like sounds of early downloadable tunes, today’s musical pieces are close to radio-quality. You could dance, except you’d look pretty goofy shaking your booty while taking a call.

Unfortunately, the realistic quality of the musical pieces has raised some ethical issues, namely copyright infringement. Since the sound of ringtones and the sound of actual songs are so similar, the record companies say they count as plays and therefore should pay some kind of royalty to the record labels and singers.

In one famous case, rap artist Eminem brought injunctions against five ringtone companies, allegedly because they had used his songs without his prior consent.

Some would say that ringtones only use ten seconds, tops, of the actual song. How long does a snippet have to be before it becomes copyright infringement? Nokia representative Matthew Courtney believes he has nothing to do with the duration. “Each reproduction of a musical excerpt implies a royalty payment to the copyright owner,” he says.

There are some songs that go beyond this rule, such as those in the public domain: classical pieces, national anthems, and yes, a cow moo. (To date, there are no records of cows suing any of the major ringtone companies.) Others still require permission from the artists and may even be subject to royalties.

Fortunately, most artists aren’t so inclined to sue, seeing ringtones as a way to promote their music and perhaps a compliment to their own popularity. In a way, being immortalized on a ringtone has become an indicator of how one’s music has infiltrated the public consciousness. Also, no one actually downloads a ringtone as a replacement for a real record. A true fan would want more than a ten second recording of a three minute song, though they would probably use that bit to announce to the world, “Hey, this tune is great.”

However, trends indicate that fans may be willing to pay for their polyphonic ringtones. Record label EMI representative Jay Samit estimates that profits from ringtones could account for as much as 10% of the recording industry’s total revenue. Apparently, the appeal of ringtones is that strong: people don’t just download them because it’s free, but because it’s a valuable feature.

Of course, many polyphonic ringtones still allow people to download the melodies for free, earning their revenue from advertisements. Others use a mix of the two business models, offering some for free (or a weekly rotating list) while requiring a small download fee for “premium ringtones”.

Either way, despite the claims, the fact remains that ringtones are here to stay.